KEYNOTES

The team at Midwest UX is proud to announce our keynote speakers for the 2021 conference. We are confident that the keynote presentations find just the right balance between reflective thinking and practical application - and offer the opportunity to inspire our attendees to apply these thought models to their own everyday design challenges.

UBIQUITOUS INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE: A FRAMEWORK FOR CROSS-CHANNEL STRATEGY

Peter Morville

At the crossroads of ubiquitous computing and the Internet, information blurs the boundaries between products and services to enable cross-channel, trans-media, physico-digital user experiences. This “intertwingularity” offers an unprecedented opportunity to re-imagine information architecture. Never before have we been able to employ such a powerful combination of networks, devices, and sensors to capture and share knowledge and to create meaningful user journeys. In this session, we’ll connect the dots between classic and cross-channel information architecture. We’ll pay special attention to the integration of mobile and social into a “web strategy” that’s responsive and future-friendly, while also highlighting key relationships with content strategy, findability, analytics, and governance. And, we’ll explore how experience maps and “IA thinking” can improve the process and product of information architecture and user experience design.

Three Questions To Be Answered: Why is information architecture even more important in an era of mobile, social, and cross-channel user experience? How can we apply “systems thinking” and “IA thinking” to improve our products and services? How do we design for customer journeys that encompass a growing array of physical and digital touchpoints?

Twitter ID: @morville

DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF POST-DIGITAL EXPERIENCES

Nathan Martin

Nathan Martin, CEO of Pittsburgh-based post-digital shop Deeplocal, will discuss the process behind several of the company’s well-known projects, including the tweet-printing Nike Chalkbot robot that debuted at the 2009 Tour de France. Deeplocal, which works both in marketing and product consulting, has strong opinions on speed and innovation. Nathan will present several examples of post-digital projects that bridge the online and offline worlds and the challenges that each campaign faced. Nathan will also discuss Deeplocal’s culture, which reflects his background as a fine artist and punk rocker, and talk about his company’s mission to support and sustain artists in Pittsburgh.

EXPERIENCE, HUMAN INTERACTION, AND SERVICE DESIGN

Richard Buchanan

Though interaction design and user experience are often identified with digital products and web-based experience, human interaction encompasses more than the experience of the flatland of the screen. In this address I will discuss the foundations of human interaction design and how they have shaped our goals in designing experiences. To add perspective to this discussion, I will focus on ideas about the emerging area of service design. Service design is another of the fascinating applications of ideas about human interaction and experience. The products of service design illustrate the integration of digital and whole-body experience. In fact, they effectively illustrate the interrelationships of what I have called the “four orders of design.” Whether designing for digital products, artifacts or any of the other types of products that designers create, a reflection on the intent and expectations surrounding service design can add value to our work.